Breathing life into Art: Groninger Museum

Tapme Media and the Groninger Museum are creating the first Beacon and Near Field Communication experience for museum visitors. The Groninger Museum will be the first museum in the Netherlands utilizing this cutting-edge technology for broadcasting hyperlocal interactive content on smartphones and tablets about the physical objects on display. The exhibition will be opened on the 28th of March and the technology is accessible for the visitors from the 29th of March 2014.

The Groninger Museum and Tapme Media are launching a unique project utilizing Beacon and NFC technology for interactive content delivery based on visitor location: Tapart. The application is adding an extra layer of in-depth information in a mix of interactive media breathing life into physical (art) objects displayed in the museum creating a unique visitor experience.

Beacons are small wireless devices which broadcast Bluetooth Smart signals. Smartphones and tablets are able to detect these beacons and when in range the visitor will receive interactive content about physical objects on display. Visitors can also ‘tap’ an NFC tag, inside several information signs, with an NFC enabled device to access the interactive content.

The Tapart platform will provide the Groninger Museum with insights in the interactions of visitors with physical objects on display in real-time. It will give an in-depth analysis on visitor movements within the museum and provide statistics on the interest and the opinion of the public. Valuable information for the Groninger Museum to improve visitor experiences.

Smartphones and Tablets

Devices with iOS 7 or higher and Android 4.3 or higher can, in combination with the Tapart app (available in the App store and Google Play store from the 28th of March), communicate with the Beacons in the museum. Devices which are NFC enabled can communicate without an app with the NFC tags in the information signs throughout the exhibition. Visitors who are not carrying a suitable device will be able to rent a tablet from the museum to have access to the digital information during their visit.

The Exhibition

The application in the Groninger Museum is the first project of Tapme Media where the technology will be tested in a real-world environment starting from the 28th of March at the opening of the new exhibition ‘De Collectie’. The technology will be available to the public from the 29th of March.